Not only are they popular for their amazing songs and the many awards that they achieved, BTS is also known for making an art or literature reference in each of their comebacks. For example, during the Wings era, they made a connection with a popular European novel called Demian. Curious about the correlation between BTS’s Wings era and Demian? Don’t worry, Channel-Korea is here to give all the details. So, without any further ado, let’s get into the topic!
Releasing the Wings Short Film Teaser
For the Wings era comeback the company brought new material. Before the official title track music video was released, they uploaded a short film for each member. The title of each short film was going to be each of the group member’s members solo songs, which is something that had never been done before. Big Hit Entertainment first released Jungkook’s short film, called “Wings Short Film #1 BEGIN” on September 4, 2016. The next few days each member’s short film was uploaded to YouTube; Jimin’s was the second, with the title “LIE”, V’s was next, with “STIGMA”, we also have Suga’s “FIRST LOVE”, RM’s with “FIRST LOVE”, and finally J-Hope’s with “MAMA”. For the eldest member, Jin, his short film was released on September 13, with “AWAKE”, which skipped one day, unlike the other members’s films. Here are the short films, if you’d like to see them:
Wings Short Film #1 BEGIN
Wings Short Film #2 LIE
Wings Short Film #3 STIGMA
Wings Short Film #4 FIRST LOVE
Wings Short Film #5 REFLECTION
Wings Short Film #6 MAMA
Wings Short Film #7 AWAKE
The Interesting Theory Behind BTS Wings Short Films
Behind the amazing graphic video and aesthetic theme, BTS’s Wings Short Films also had a hidden message with a theory in it. Many Army had already tried to work out the theory by making several threads about the Wings Short Film theory on some social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr. From all the questions that ARMY had answered, some of them speculated that the Wings Short Film were related to a Germany novel called “Demian”. So what kind of novel is it? and which part of the “Demian” novel has a connection with the BTS Wings Short Films? Let’s find out!
A Little Introduction to “Demian”
The novel “Demian”, or known as Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair’s Youth, is of the Bildungsroman genre that was created by Herman Hesse. This novel was first published in Germany in 1919 by Fischer Verlag, under the pseudonym “Emil Sinclair”. The English translation of the novel was released four years later, in 1923, and was translated by Hilda Rosner. Around 1960, a prologue was added.
A Sneak Peak of the Novel
The plot of the story begins with a young boy named Emil Sinclair, who is raised in a middle class home. His entire existence is summarized as a struggle between two different worlds, which are “the show world of illusions (related to the Hindu concept of maya)” and “the real world, the world of spiritual truth”. By the middle of the story, Sinclair was caught between good and evil, which was also represented as the light and dark realms. Sinclair is being accompanied by his mysterious classmate and friend named Max Demian.
